Lucky Motor introduces Pakistan’s first European vehicle

Lucky Motor introduces Pakistan’s first European vehicle. KARACHI: Lucky Motor Company (LMC), which manufactures Kia vehicles in Pakistan, has partnered with Stellantis to offer the European automotive Peugeot for the first time in Pakistan.

Lucky Motor introduces Pakistan’s first European vehicle

The firm will assemble French Peugeot 1.2L Turbo 2008 Active and Allure models, which would cost Rs5.25 million and Rs5.85 million, respectively.

According to LMC CEO Asif Rizvi, the country has a desire for European vehicles. “Where do people like to go on vacation?” he inquired. “Most people want to go to Europe, not Japan, China, or South Korea,” he remarked, hoping that those who have driven European automobiles will buy them in Pakistan as well.

People have been driving imported European automobiles like as Audi, BMW, and Mercedes, according to LMC Automotive Division President Mohammad Faisal, and “now they have a European car on their menu.”

Peugeot 2008 may reduce Kia Sportage’s market share, but Rizvi remarked, “let them purchase whatever they want, both are our vehicles.” Both were SUVs that appealed to various types of customer desires. Sportage is 2000cc and somewhat larger. It is a ‘C’ category SUV, whereas the 2008 is a ‘B’ category SUV.

He stated that the corporation was identifying segments in Pakistan’s vehicle market that had yet to be created. “Why will we bring one more sedan to the markert if there are so many sedans?” “Why not go for an area that hasn’t been catered to yet, and the SUV segment has been just that,” Rizvi added.

The SUV segment has been the fastest expanding in the world, and LMC has followed suit.

According to industry research conducted by another vehicle firm in Pakistan, SUVs would have the largest proportion of the Pakistani auto market by 2030, accounting for 37 percent, ahead of sedans and hatchbacks.

Almost one dozen SUVs have been introduced in Pakistan as a result of the Auto Policy 2016-21, which provided tax advantages to new automobile manufacturers like Kia, Changan, MG, and others to get their operations up and running and provide customers with more options. In Pakistan’s vehicle business, these companies also disrupted the stranglehold of Japanese automobile companies.

In response to a query about localisation, Rizvi stated that Pakistan’s industries have fundamental challenges that must be solved before real localization can be achieved.

If the government merely paid lip service to localization, it was impossible to realise. Steel and plastic raisins are two businesses that the government should support. “At the moment, we only have one raw material: labour.” Only if a locally produced auto part is particularly labour intensive would its cost be 15 to 20% localised. Local portions, on the other hand, have only 10% to 12% localisation,” he noted.